Rudy: Yes, I Voted For McGovern, But I Actually Preferred Nixon
As he seeks to court GOP primary voters, one potential sticking point has been his opposition to the Vietnam War in the early 1970s and his vote for Dem George McGovern in 1972. But Rudy has now concocted a new explanation for that vote: He didn't mean it.
Or so he says in a new interview with The Weekly Standard:
"I had traditionally been a Democrat," Giuliani told me in a recent interview in Las Vegas. "It was almost like a reflex mode. I actually remember saying to myself, 'If I was a person really deciding who should be president right now, I'd probably vote for Nixon, because I think the country would be safer with Nixon.'"
Hmmm. Does this mean that Rudy didn't vote for the candidate who he himself thought would keep the country safer? Seems a bit odd. Foreign policy and national security issues were kind of front and center during that campaign.
The article also delves into Rudy's switch to the GOP, which came in 1980. In the piece Rudy seems to suggest that this was driven partly by his discontent with Dems on foreign policy. But as the Standard article accurately points out, Rudy's switch to the GOP neatly coincided with his desire to get a political appointment from the newly-minted Reagan administration.
Comments (38)
CalD wrote on November 23, 2007 10:32 AM:See? Even when playfully indulging in a spirited but harmless (Nixon still won after all), youthful act of misbehavior in 1972, Rudy could still foresee somewhere in the back of his mind that one day, 9/11 would come. :b
TheraP wrote on November 23, 2007 10:49 AM:Best predictor of future behavior?
Past behavior.
Reflex mode: marriages and affairs; pulling the lever for one, and flirting with another.
Pretty trustworthy, eh?
davybaby wrote on November 23, 2007 10:57 AM:1972 was ancient history, but how can he explain his support for Mario Cuomo in 1994?
CalD wrote on November 23, 2007 11:01 AM:1994 was before 9/11 changed everything. Also, he didn't inhale.
Richard L. Adlof wrote on November 23, 2007 11:07 AM:All that was before Guiliani realized that jackbooted thugery and runnning around saying "I'm not the Mayor of 9/10" could earn him a $100 million . . .
Daniel wrote on November 23, 2007 11:13 AM:Giuliani is going to have a hard time winning th nomination with things like this. Not to mention how much the primary calendar is playing against him at this point.
AJ wrote on November 23, 2007 11:14 AM:The actual vote is easily explained away, it was 35 years ago, after all. But the explanation of the vote is inexcusable dissembling and lying. He voted for McGovern because he wanted to vote against him, how does that even make sense?
Steve5117 wrote on November 23, 2007 11:17 AM:I married a brunette but I actually preferred redheads!
Freewheelin' Freddie wrote on November 23, 2007 11:41 AM:Bill Clinton: I didn't inhale.
Larry Craig: I didn't swallow.
Rudy Giuliani: 9/11
Any one else find it a little scary that this guy has even gotten as far as he has? Separate and apart from all the partisan stuff and the pathetic performance by the press in general, I sure wish someone would come up with a better way to pick who gets what is, after all, a pretty important job.
Giuliani is going to have a hard time winning th nomination with things like this. Not to mention how much the primary calendar is playing against him at this point.
While it's true that the primary calendar is working against Rudy at this point in the game, (I've said for almost a year now that Mike Huckabee will win out--an expected strong showing in Iowa will do wonders for his campaign) I really think the idea of Giuliani losing the primary fight on former political principles is complete and total myth. Pat Robertson's endorsement speaks volumes.
If Republicans have been consistent in anything, it's their willingness to betray their own stated fundamental values by supporting candidates who have obviously been ardent supporters of furthering gay rights, abortion rights, and what are otherwise generally considered progressive values.
While I still have my personal opinion as to whom will eventually win once the dust has settled, the fact of the matter is that the Republican nomination is far from settled at this point in the game and probably, if anything, is more unpredictable than the Democratic nomination contest.
scarshapedstar wrote on November 23, 2007 11:49 AM:Good thing he's a Republican, otherwise this would be a flip-flop.
Ferruge wrote on November 23, 2007 11:58 AM:I look forward to the day, hopefully not too far off, when I don't feel like I have to give a flying fuck about whatever craven absurd steamy frothy bullshit emanates from this man's hypocrite mouth.
numi wrote on November 23, 2007 12:12 PM:So in the privacy of the voting booth, with no one watching, Rudy betrayed himself and pulled the lever for McGovern rather thn Nixon. What a lying sack of shit.
This guy needs a head shrinker.
TheraP wrote on November 23, 2007 12:18 PM:Sorry, numi, I deem him "not treatable."
aleks wrote on November 23, 2007 12:28 PM:Perhaps it was a bit of last minute Tricky Dickery, he voted for McGovern to . . . to . . . does he recall what precinct and at what time of day he voted?
Geoff wrote on November 23, 2007 12:36 PM:Rudy, for as long as I can remeber, and that's a long time, has always been a mean-spirited, opportunistic, sleazebag. When viewed through that prism all of his actions past and present have a certain continuity and the future can be fairly well predicted. 9-11 was, as it turned out for him AND Bush, the apogee of opportunism. The other characteristics express more or less continuously throughout his career.
So, to recapitulate:
mean-spirited, opportunistic sleazebag= GOP front runner.
Perfect
Underestimate the cross-dressing bully at your own peril...
Remember this same eletorate that gave us a Village Idiot for POTUS, not once but twice! Before we realize it, we could have a much more destructive version of the current idiot, as some people might buy into his 24-7, 9-11 act.
Benito Mussolini was a socialist before he took a hard right ideological turn and created Fascism.
The parallels are striking.
Fork-tongued, duplicitous fuck.
Drake wrote on November 23, 2007 12:52 PM:Handmaiden to the worst president ever, really, really, realy wanted to vote for the second worst. Somehow very appropriate...
Michael S wrote on November 23, 2007 1:05 PM:Rudy is a liar, not a hero. Don't believe a word he says. Vote for an honest physician!!! www.ronpaul2008.com
Ripley wrote on November 23, 2007 1:08 PM:If he gets the Republican nomination, maybe this means we can count on him to vote for his opponent. Ya know, almost like a reflex mode.
Paranoid yet? wrote on November 23, 2007 1:21 PM:deshugu:
The "electorate" did not give us the "village idiot." Two stolen elections did.
Singularity wrote on November 23, 2007 3:52 PM:Now to be fair, Mixon was probably the third or fourth worst president. James Buchanan basically fiddled while the country burned its way to a civil war. And Herbert Hoover took an economy sinking into recession and piled on the weight that plummetted us into the Great Depression. Arguably, both of those men were worse presidents than Nixon. Of course, none of them are worse than Shrubya.
Jerome Cox wrote on November 23, 2007 4:02 PM:Rudy does't have to worry about attacts on his truthfulness, because Russert, Brian Lamb, Bob Schefer, and all only see character flaus in Hillary and other top dems.
Orwell's Intuition wrote on November 23, 2007 4:13 PM:Rudy does not possess the courage of his convictions. 'nuff said.
James Madison wrote on November 23, 2007 4:47 PM:Wouldn't it be nice if a straight talking candidate like Dr. Ron Paul got the nomination, instead of a bullshitter?
He's surging in the polls and surging in the pocketbook.
NJ Lawyer wrote on November 23, 2007 5:46 PM:Rudy is becoming a bigger pathological liar than Jon Lovitz's Tommy Flanagan character on "Saturday Night Live."
DallasNE wrote on November 23, 2007 6:07 PM:How does Rudy really being for Nixon help Rudy. Does he think that Watergate really didn't matter to the American people. Saying "I was really for the crook" seems like an odd political gambit.
Richard L. Adlof wrote on November 23, 2007 6:12 PM:The only position you hear from Paul is his stance on the farging occupation . . . If you look at the rest of his platform you'd wake up screaming every night from night terrors . . . The cage match from 'Beyond Thunderdome' is not government and Paul is not Presidential material.
Pete wrote on November 23, 2007 8:07 PM:I hope Rudy gets the nomination. I think he has the best chance of fracturing the "religious right". The only way we end up with a Rep, again, is if they vote as a block.
Political Sunshine wrote on November 23, 2007 11:56 PM:So I guess he was for Nixon before he was against him?
Richard wrote on November 24, 2007 12:17 AM:I was for Nixon before I was against him.
Rudy and Mitt don't have an ounce of integrity between them. Whoever gets the republican nomination will be DOA.
Hillary may be triangulating and may have some other errors of judgment in her background, but she'd have a long way to go to catch up with Rudy on this one. The brashness, the sheer "in your face" attitude, the blatant boldness of trying to win with either side of the coin. The perfect example of a man that speaks out of both sides of his mouth. Easy to see that Rudy intends to offer himself up advertised as "something for everyone." Don't like what he has to offer on one side of an argument? No problem, because he's on the other side of the argument, too!
Keep goin', Rudy. Nobody will ever catch on to this tactic. People aren't that observant. Just keep it up.
Mike wrote on November 26, 2007 3:11 PM:Rudy Guliani was too busy before 9-11 protecting the interests of Kerik who is now under federal indictment.He knew about his mafia connections and kickbacks.
He was protecting his friend - a pedophile preist.
He got kickbacks from the company that made defective radios that firemen had to use.
He was seeing another women while married.
No wonder he did not protect Americans before 9-11.
And murder rates went up by over 3000 in 2001 alone while Guliani was the mayor of new york.
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